Buoyancy garment

ABSTRACT

A clothing item such as a shirt is combined with a concealed and entrapped bladder which can be inflated in the event of an emergency. The shirt can be of fashionable appearance and the buoyance function disguised to make the buoyancy device more attractive to those who otherwise may be inclined to take risks on or in water.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

THIS INVENTION relates to buoyancy garments.

BACKGROUND ART

Despite there being many readily available and relatively inexpensivebuoyancy aids, accidental death by drowning remains commonplace.

Most buoyancy aids are worn about the chest region of a wearer and mostare bulky and very visible.

For some water sport activities such as surfing, kayaking, sailboardingand the like, participants are required to have a high degree ofactivity and arm freedom in order to participate freely in theiractivity and bulky or restrictive buoyancy devices are not favoured forthis reason.

Another problem in terms of encouraging people to be more water safetyconscious which affects young people in particular is the issue ofimage.

It is very rare to see a board rider wearing a buoyancy device even intreacherous conditions with the obvious conclusion from this that vanityissues are involved.

The more buoyancy devices can be disguised, the more likely they are tobe accepted.

There have been numerous proposals for garment-type floatation devicesand some proposals for add-on floatation devices worn in associationwith clothing.

Examples of purpose-built garment-type floatation devices are describedin United Kingdom patent no. 2,183,554, U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,933, U.S.Pat. No. 316,454 and U.S. Pat. No. 1,428,151.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,231,411 describes a fashionable lifesaving device which,it is said, utilizes the look of casual clothing such as shorts, pants,bathing suits or shirts to disguise inbuilt inflatable chambers.

International patent application no. PCT/U98/00092 proposes an upperbody supporting bladder which can be unobtrusively inserted under agarment such as a wetsuit to provide floatation support in an emergencysituation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a buoyancy device inthe form of a common garment with a view to improved water safety.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a buoyancydevice which is of fashionable appearance and insofar as is practicable,disguises the fact that it is a buoyancy device.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the ensuingdescription which is given by way of example only.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided in combination ofa shirt and a floatation device comprising

-   -   (a) a shirt having a continuous trunk, a collar and arm holes    -   (b) a compartment formed from an inner lining or outer overlay        which covers the chest and front and rear collar regions of the        shirt,    -   (c) means for providing access to the interiors of the        compartment,    -   (d) a removable bladder for insertion into the compartment, and    -   (e) means for manual and/or automatic inflation of the bladder        to provide floatation support for a wearer of the shirt.

Access to the compartment is provided by a closable openings positionedabout the periphery of same.

The bladder can comprise two separate chest portions communicable with acollar encircling portion.

The collar encircling portion of the bladder can be narrower when viewedin plan than the chest portions.

The front side of the bladder can be provided with a value for manualinflation of the bladder and an actuator for automatic inflation of thebladder via a gas cylinder.

The valve and actuator can be hidden from view by pockets or flanges.

The shirt can be a tee or polo style shirt.

A captured wrap around tensioning device can be positioned just belowthe compartment.

The tensioning device can be a cord.

The tensioning device can include straps.

The tensioning device can be positioned to coincide with the lower ribregion of the wearer.

The tensioning device can be positioned to coincide with the waistregion of a wearer.

The closeable opening can be positioned at the rear of the shirtadjacent to the collar region.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present invention will now be described with reference tothe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a buoyancy garment according to the presentinvention, and

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the buoyancy garment of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a bladder for the buoyancy garment of FIGS. 1and 2, and

FIG. 4 is a front view of the garment showing for illustrative purposesthe bladder overlaid in the garment, and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views showing a situation where a wearermay choose to self-inflate the bladder or, when in the water, activate agas cylinder to achieve inflation.

With respect to the drawings, the buoyancy garment of the presentinvention comprises a combination of a shirt indicated by arrow 1 and afloatation device in the form of a bladder indicated by arrow 2.

The chest and shoulder region of the shirt provides a compartment 3 intowhich the bladder can be inserted, the compartment being formed by aninner lining or outer overlay.

In the illustrated example, the compartment is formed from an innerlining.

The garment is provided with an openable and closable opening 3 forinserting and removing the bladder from the compartment.

Other openings may be positioned about the periphery of the compartment.

The opening can be opened or secured with a zip, Velcro, studs or othersuitable temporary closure means.

In the illustrated example an opening 3 is provided on the rear face ofthe shirt and extends between the collar 5 and trunk 6 of the shirt 1.

The bladder 2 and compartment 3 are of complementary shapes so that thebladder snuggly fits into the compartment.

The bladder 2 is provided with two separate chest portions 7communicable via a neck encircling portion 8.

The bladder 2 is inflatable by inflation means which include a blow tubeand one way valve 9 or an inflation gas canister 10 and activating cord11.

The blow tube and canister are positioned on the chest portions 7 of thebladder to coincide with pocket positions on the shirt.

Tie cords 12 may be provided just below the rib area of the shirt and/orat the bottom hem of the shirt. The tie cords can be threaded into hemsof the shirt. Belts may be substituted for the tie cords.

In line with the objectives of the invention to provide a fashionableclothing item which disguises the functional purpose of same, the shirtcan be provided with decorative stripes 13 which coincide with the endsof the sleeves of the shirt and/or the hems fixing the underlay to theshirt and defining the outer periphery of the compartment.

The shirt can be made in any suitable fabric or material and in popularstyles such as “tees” or “polos”.

The bladder can be manufactured from plastics, UV resistant fabrics, PVcoated nylon fabric, or nylon coated neoprene which can be stitched,glued or heat sealed or radio frequency welded.

Pockets or flaps 14 can be provided for disguising the blow tubes andgas inflation devices.

FIGS. 5 and 6 respectively of the drawings illustrate situations inwhich a user may wish to manually inflate the bladder in situations whenunexpected danger occurs such as a large wave or rough seas and then anin-water situation where the user has fallen from a craft and the gascylinder can be activated.

Because of the configuration of the bladder, the user will be providedwith buoyancy support enabling him to either swim or float with the headwell clear of water.

There are a number of advantages of the present invention including,inter alia,

-   -   (a) the floatation function of the invention can be well        disguised as a common place garment,    -   (b) the bladder can be removed for maintenance and repair and to        allow the garment to be separately cleaned,    -   (c) inflation of the bladder can be achieved orally or in water        situations with the assistance of a replaceable gas cylinder,    -   (d) the invention can be produced at modest cost.

Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of exampleonly and it would be appreciated that modifications and additionsthereto can be made without departure from the scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

1. The combination of a shirt and a floatation device comprising (a) apullover style shirt having a continuous trunk, a collar and arm holes,(b) a compartment formed from an inner lining or outer overlay whichcovers the chest and front and rear collar regions of the shirt, (c)means for providing access to the interior of the compartment, (d) abladder device for insertion into the compartment, and (e) means formanual and/or automatic inflation of the bladder positioned at a chestregion of the trunk to provide floatation support for the wearer of theshirt.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein access to the compartmentis provided by a closable openings positioned about the periphery ofsame.
 3. The combination as claimed in claim 1 where in the bladdercomprises two separate chest portions communicable with a collarencircling portion.
 4. The combination of claim 3 wherein collarencircling portion of the bladder is narrower when viewed in plan thanthe chest portions.
 5. The combination of any one of claim 1 wherein thefront side of the bladder is provided with a valve for manual inflationof the bladder and an actuator for automatic inflation of the bladdervia a gas cylinder.
 6. The combination of claim 5 wherein the valve andactuator are hidden from view by pockets or flanges.
 7. The combinationas claimed in claim 1 wherein the shirt is a tee or polo style shirt. 8.The combination of claim 1 including a captured wrap around tensioningdevice positioned just below the compartment.
 9. The combination ofclaim 8 wherein the tensioning device is a cord.
 10. The combination ofclaim 8 wherein the tensioning device includes straps.
 11. Thecombination of claim 8 wherein the tensioning device is positioned tocoincide with the lower rib region of the wearer.
 12. The combination ofclaim 8 wherein the tensioning device is positioned to coincide with thewaist region of a wearer.
 13. The combination of claim 1 wherein thecloseable opening is positioned at the rear of the shirt adjacent to thecollar region.